Book Review: Final Target

Reviewed By: Luke Croll - RAM

Final Target     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Iris Johansen
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Romantic Suspense   Psychic
Pan, 2001, £5.99, 352 pps.

For a change, Iris Johansen takes a break from her Eve Duncan series and introduces entirely new characters. When the US President's daughter retreats into a catatonic state following an attempted kidnap attempt, he goes to Dr. Jessica Riley in an attempt to make her well again. When Riley can make no real progress, the man who rescued her, diamond smuggler Michael Travis is brought in to help. However, Travis has his own agenda and things soon start to go very wrong.

The break from the Eve Duncan series is indeed a welcome one. Whilst the characters started off in an interesting way, they soon became repetitive and so it is good to see that Johansen is not willing to get stuck in a rut and will try something new. These characters work well together and there are quite a few unexpected plot developments, one of which is guaranteed to surprise any reader.

'Final Target' mixes mystery, romance and globe-trotting and the book is a quick and easy read. However, there is nothing here to set the world on fire. Instead, Johansen goes through the usual motions and whilst there is nothing overly weak about the book, it cannot rise above the average mark and really, there is nothing more that can be said. If you like her books, then you will like this one. If you have never tried her writing before, there are better examples of it around.

Luke Croll - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

Luke Croll - Conference interpreter and translator
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